Resistance Fall of Man: Fall of the West
by DracosDemon
Summary: Colonel Robert Granger is escorted to a secret military base in the Texas desert to undertake a deadly mission


14

**DISCLAIMER: ** I **do not** own 'Resistance Fall of Man' or any aspect of the franchise. This piece has been written purely as a work of imaginative fan-fiction only and the title, its rights and intellectual property belong to Insomniac Games and Sony. I make NO profits from this piece whatsoever (sadly, because I want to be a writer…sigh).

**Author's Notes**: I know some of the weapons mentioned in this story were not around in 1948. I have been as close as I can be in chronology, picking interesting weapons, aircraft and vehicles that were around within a few years of 1948…after all, it **IS** a parallel universe! I also mixed weapons/aircraft from the game with some of these interesting real weapons systems to give humanity a better fighting chance.

I also know that in the game the Nazi party was not in control of Germany. I have put Hitler and the Nazi party in control to increase the international tension in the story, in effect creating a pre-Cold War Cold War before the Chimera turn up. World War 2 has not happened (as in the game), but World War 1 has (known as 'The Great War'). I think that World War 1 was pretty instrumental in putting Hitler in power, creating desperation in Germany for a strong leadership (even one that was so morally wrong) so the 'mustached maniac' is still in control of a Germany that pulled back from Poland only after joint American/European threats in 1939. Anyhow, enough of the dull alternative history stuff and on with the story…

**Resistance Fall of Man:**

**Fall of the West**

**Chapter One: Texas back roads, July 1948**

The arid red scenery drifted by like a hazy terracotta dream, mile after endless mile of rotted wire fences, parched desert-thorn bushes and lonely road-kill. The towering buttes on the infinite skyline reminded Robert Granger of his insignificance and place in a truly desolate universe. The raw redness of the desert made painful contact with the barren sky, the border between the dusty earth and sweltering air above it impossible to determine on the seamless horizon. The arrow-straight ribbon of tarmac shimmered and baked in its own heat haze, the drumming of the tires on its surface the only sound he had heard for the last five miles. The occasional abandoned farmhouse floated past, sandblasted white wooden boards and decking discoloured like so many rotten teeth.

"So…I will see you again then, yes?" The strikingly pretty Mexican girl tentatively smiled over at him from the passenger seat of the dust-encrusted Jaguar XK-120 drop-top. Ringlets of glossy dark hair hung randomly over her narrow brown shoulders, her full smile highlighting her delicate features. A half-empty bottle of rum lay in her lap, cradled in one arm like a sleeping infant. She had been silent over the last few miles, her eyes staring straight ahead as she drank from the bottle. Robert knew her well enough to recognize her pensive brooding when he saw it. Maria had something on her mind and whatever it was, it was probably his fault.

He grinned back at her, the contents of his head warm and faintly fuzzy. He reached over, steering the car with his knees, as he grabbed the bottle and drank deeply from it. She laughed as he handed it back to her, wiping his mouth casually with the back of his hand. "Yes…why not…we have fun don't we?" His British accent was calm and measured, but had the desired effect of soothing his companion, whose smile broadened with his false reassurance. He glanced in the rear-view mirror, a bright glinting reflection suddenly catching his eye on the road behind them. It took him a moment to regain his long distance vision after the burst of sunlight had temporarily dazzled him, but he saw the distinctive dark shape of a car. As he watched it he could tell it was travelling at high speed. The sun had reflected off its windshield, giving away its presence.

"You're crazy…I like that in a man…I do…a crazy Englishman!" She grinned impishly and saluted him with the bottle, drinking the strong contents through her broad pouting lips. She winced at the bitter taste of the fiery liquid, brushing away long strands of hair that the desert breeze blew across her eyes. "I've never met an English pilot before…never."

He laughed, his eyes cautiously watching the growing sedan close in on them from behind. "That, my dear Maria, is because you've _never_ met an English man before!" He nudged her playfully with his elbow and she nudged him back, almost spilling the contents of the bottle as she laughed.

The black Cadillac 61 stopped its rapid approach and hung back, pacing the red Jaguar. It made no attempt to overtake them. Even through the thin plume of dust and grit kicked up by the sports car, Robert could clearly see the driver. The burly broad-shouldered man sat high in his seat and wore a dark suit, his fair hair cropped short to his wide scalp. The man in the passenger seat was slightly smaller and older, but looked every inch the 'official' type. They were definitely not police. Robert was sure of that. Air force? He still had five days of leave left before they resumed flight testing. There was no reason for them to call him back to the base so early.

"You know I've enjoyed this weekend yes?" Maria looked over at him, her dark eyes scanning his face for responses. She was oblivious to the car behind them and Robert's growing concern.

"Yes…I've enjoyed it too…" His eyes never left the rear-view mirror as he applied more pressure to the accelerator. The Jaguar opened up another fifty feet of clear dirty tarmac between itself and the Cadillac.

Maria picked up on his distracted tone, taking it to mean he was like the other pilots she'd met…only interested in her for one thing. "I've been out with pilots before you know…I know what you guys are like…" Her voice took on an angry edge, her eyes hardening for an instant as she clutched the bottle more tightly. He just seemed to nod absentmindedly, so she took a more determined gulp from the bottle. "I'm not just some Mexican village girl you can run over the border every time you feel lonely!"

The Cadillac increased its pace accordingly as Robert watched the driver glare at him through the windscreen. The man in the passenger seat checked the Jaguar's registration plate and looked down at a sheet of paper he was holding in one hand. Robert's mind filled with a flurry of thoughts as Maria chattered on angrily beside him.

They had been warned during the flight programme about the remote possibility of Russian or German spies. This had been a long-standing running joke between the pilots and hadn't been taken seriously at all. However, Robert always carried a loaded .455 Webley revolver in the car's glove box with spare Mk111 'manstopper' rounds. This had been more to do with the local cougar and rattlesnake population than the 'threat' posed by the Nazis or the Imperial Russian Secret Service. However, until he knew who these guys were, he was taking no chances. He memorized the car's Texas number plate and placed his foot over the Jaguar's accelerator pedal, his free hand getting ready to work the car's manual gear lever.

"Hey…are you listening to a word I'm saying…I _like_ you okay?" Maria dug her elbow into his side less playfully, her large brown eyes smouldering. "You could at least _listen_ to me dammit"

When Robert gunned the car's engine she was thrown back forcefully in her seat, almost dropping the bottle. "What the hell are you doing?" She looked at him as she clutched at the car door for support, her anger now replaced with real fear.

"We're being followed…sit low in your seat…I don't know who they are." In the mirror Robert could see the men talking animatedly as he sped away from them, the Cadillac now shrinking in size rapidly.

She looked back at the receding car, her face a mask of confusion. "Who are they? Are you in trouble with the damn casinos again?" She glared at him angrily. How many times had they been through this shit in the three months they'd been seeing each other? "Because if you are, then…then I don't know if I can see you any more…I'm serious Robbie! I don't need this in my life…"

He shook his head. "No…it's nothing like that…I've settled what I owed them…" He decided that a 'little white lie' to calm her down wouldn't hurt, given their situation. Perhaps now was the wrong time to tell her he'd won the Jaguar off an American four-star general over a game of poker? "Anyhow, these guys look official…I'm not sure who they are…should be able to outrun them anyhow." A glance at the speedometer showed they were passing one hundred miles an hour and the Cadillac was shrinking back towards the red horizon. The river of dirty tarmac flowed under the car in a blur, vibrations from the road shaking the interior of the vehicle as it passed one hundred and ten miles an hour.

After a couple of miles the flat desert immediately surrounding the road gave way to a rocky landscape, the buttes and cliffs in the distance closing in around them as the straight road was forced to adopt sweeping curves and bends. There was now no sign of the menacing car behind them.

"How do you know we were being followed then? How can you be sure?" Maria stared at him, her face looking doubtful. "The road carries on for thirty miles until we hit the next town. _Anyone_ heading into town would have to come this way…it could have been anyone."

He shook his head. "No…it wasn't just _anyone_…it was definitely _someone_." He struggled to hide the anger in his voice. "A guy just driving into town wouldn't drive at that speed…plus they were _really_ unsubtle about it…believe me…we were being tailed." He checked the mirror once more and then the Jaguar's speedometer, which was reading a less dangerous fifty five miles an hour.

The narrow road cut through a rugged cliff-face, the towers of wind-eroded rock reaching far above their heads towards the sun bleached summer sky. The road took a sharp turn to the left and the rock-face dropped away suddenly, leading to a vast dustbowl landscape that stretched ahead for miles. Cacti stood in spiny clusters surrounded by dried out hunchbacked bushes as far as the eye could see. Boulders peppered the landscape, most carved into strange shapes by a thousand years of abrasive desert wind.

Robert brought the car to a halt as Maria leaned forward in her chair, using her free hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. She stared straight ahead, speechless for a moment as she took in the sight before them. "What the hell have you got yourself into Robby..?"

"_Now_ do you believe we're being followed?" He glanced at her astonished face then turned back towards the windscreen and what lay ahead. His mind flashed through the options available to them, but it was no use. The low slung Jaguar would tear itself apart on the rocks if he tried to drive it off road, so there was no point even trying. He couldn't see a realistic way out of this.

The road ran straight ahead for a thousand yards and two marked Chevrolet Fleetline Texas police cruisers straddled its entire width from left to right. Another black Cadillac 61 was parked up behind the cruisers like some giant polished beetle, forming an impenetrable barrier of steel bodywork and Detroit iron. A group of men were standing casually by the roadside smoking cigarettes and talking. Four of them wore Texas police uniforms, but the others wore dark suits, like the occupants of the car that had been following them. Their shimmering outlines were distorted by the heat radiating up from the baking tarmac, a small clump of dry weed blowing across the road in the steady breeze between the stationary Jaguar and the road-block.

It reminded Robert of a scene from a cowboy movie where the gun-slingers face each other before the final showdown. He couldn't help smiling grimly at the irony of it. He leaned over and calmly opened up the glove box, pulling out the heavy revolver. The weapon was concealed under his leather belt, hidden beneath the folds of his shirt. He pocketed a fist-full of fat brass cartridges, pushing them into the pockets of his denim jeans and smiled reassuringly at Maria. "It'll be okay…you'll be safe….I promise."

Behind the noise of the wind blowing through the rocky outcrops there was another sound, a dull mechanical resonance that was almost concealed by the breeze. Robert scanned what he could of the horizon, but could see nothing. However, he recognized that heavy, droning mechanical clatter and knew it well…it was drawing closer to them with each passing second.

One of the police officers flicked a cigarette butt into the road and grinned over at the Jaguar, mockingly touching the edge of his wide-brimmed hat with his forefinger.

Robert grinned back, raising his middle finger at the group of men. The police officers laughed among themselves, but the men in suits seemed less than impressed with his rebellious gesture.

Suddenly the dust around the stationary Jaguar became airborne, grit clattering noisily over the car's aluminium bodywork as a huge shadow spread over them like liquid ink. Maria covered her face for protection as the huge VTOL tilt-rotor transporter appeared over the cliffs behind them and hovered over the car like a giant vulture. The air was filled with the noise of the massive blades cleaving the air above as its bulky airframe circled around them slowly. The side door on the aircraft was open and a uniformed soldier stood in the doorway, holding onto a metal handrail as he peered down into the interior of the car.

The VTOL transport drifted lazily over the road ahead of them, its bulbous steel body descending by degrees until the wide tires of its undercarriage touched the dry road, compressing under the weight. Its resonating shape completely blocked the cars from view as the shrubbery on each side of the road was flattened by the fierce scorching downdraft from the huge tilting rotors. An officer jumped out of the side door and ran towards them, using his free hand to keep his cap on his head as his uniform billowed out around him. When he got to the car he bent down, cupping his hands to his mouth as he addressed Robert. "Colonel Granger…we've been sent to collect you sir!"

Robert looked up at the young officer, running a hand over his three day growth of dark stubble. "What the hell's the matter? You do know I've still got five days left of leave before I'm due back…what do you want?"

The young officer shrugged. "I don't know sir…we've just been sent out to collect you…that's all I know." The boy stood well over six feet in height, his square jaw and blue eyes matching the drawl of his Texan accent. The kid was a walking stereotype. He looked so young that Robert instantly felt tired and old just by looking at him. "We'll take care of your car sir and we'll give Miss Rodreguez a ride back home. You're to fly out with us sir…a grade 'A' priority…they're our orders."

Robert climbed out of the car as another young soldier emerged from the VTOL and took the car keys from him. "And what if I don't want to go wherever the hell you're taking me?" Robert took a step towards the officer, looking up into his face. At five foot ten he was a good six inches or so shorter than his escort.

The younger man looked momentarily startled and took a step backwards, smelling the booze on Robert's breath. "We have orders to escort you to a secure location sir. There are two military police in the VTOL to assist in this…sir!" The officer pushed his barrel chest out and glanced back towards the noisy machine for reassurance.

"Robby! What the hell's going on?...this is crazy…" Maria reached out to him with one hand, shaking her head in disbelief.

"If you're going to bloody well drag me off to the glasshouse or god only knows where, can I grab a few things from the car first?" The young officer nodded, satisfied that the colonel would go with them peacefully. Robert leaned in and kissed Maria on the mouth, reaching down quickly and grabbing the bottle from her lap. "It looks as if we'll have to take a rain-check on that trip to Vegas honey…maybe next time." He grinned as he ran a hand across her cheek affectionately. "I'll be back as soon as I can…I promise." Strangely enough, this time, he felt as if he really meant it.

The young officer stepped forward and grabbed Robert's arm. "I'm sorry sir…you can't drink on this flight."

Robert sighed wearily, looking into the young officer's face. "Let me put it to you this way kid…you either let me take my bottle or you'll be wearing it across your skull…you're MP's won't be close enough to stop me either. It's your choice."

The officer took another step backwards, his baby-face a mask of uncertainty as his pale blue eyes flitted from the VTOL and back to Robert. He didn't doubt for an instant that the colonel would carry out his threat. "But…but we've got our orders sir…"

Robert sighed and shrugged. "Just take me wherever we're going lad…and make it fast." He paused for an instant, glancing towards his beloved Jaguar. The second soldier had taken position in the driver's seat and was looking up at them expectantly. Robert pointed at him, looking directly into the eyes of his escort. "And if your man there dints my car, I'll bury his corpse out here where only the coyotes will find it…is that clear?"

The younger man saluted smartly. "Yes sir!" The look of relief on his broad face was clear.

As the VTOL transport increased power to its engines, Robert looked down at Maria, who was glaring up at him defiantly, shielding her face with her hands as the desert dust spiraled around her like a dirty tornado. The black Cadillac that had been following them pulled up behind the Jaguar and the big driver climbed out, looking angrily up at the ascending aircraft. Robert gave Maria a cheery wave and grinned broadly as she gave him 'the finger', mouthing the words 'Son of a bitch' at him just as the VTOL banked sharply to the right and accelerated away over the Texan wasteland.

Chapter Two: Project 'Ares' coming soon!


End file.
